author
John R. (John Rawson) Speer
1910–1953
A pulp-era writer and radio storyteller from Wichita, he moved from stage work into scripts, magazine fiction, and mystery writing. His career touched vaudeville, early broadcasting, and the lively world of American popular fiction before his death in 1953.
1 Audiobook
The carnal god
by John R. (John Rawson) Speer, Carlisle Schnitzer
About the author
Born in Wichita, Kansas, on January 21, 1910, John Rawson Speer worked under the name John R. Speer. Early records and later accounts describe him as a performer first: by 1930 he was listed as an actor, and reports after his death said he had left home as a teenager to work in vaudeville, circus, and burlesque.
Speer later turned that show-business experience into writing. He wrote scripts for KFH radio in Wichita and was associated with the program Phantom Theatre. He also published fiction, including work in the pulp and mystery field, and is remembered for the novel The Carnal God.
He died on August 10, 1953. Although he is not a widely known literary figure today, his career gives a vivid glimpse of a time when stage entertainment, radio drama, and popular magazine fiction often overlapped.